1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solar pool heaters and more particularly pertains to several embodiments of floating solar pool heaters which can be cheaply and efficiently manufactured from PVC tubing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of solar pool heaters is well known in the prior art. A typical example of a solar pool heater which may be positioned directly on the water's surface, thus to eliminate the need for roof-mounted reflectors and conduits, is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,995 which issued to G. Wilson on Jan. 24, 1984. The Wilson patent discloses a flexible solar quilt which collects and absorbs solar energy, and then transfers heat to the underlying ground, water or other medium. It includes gas tight compartments which are positioned between an upper film and a lower film. The quilt is designed to float on the surface of a pool and captures a substantial quantity of heat, with the cooler pool water then absorbing the heat in an a well known manner.
Another passive type solar heater which dispenses with the need for roof-mounted structural components is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,466 which issued to S. Slonneger on Oct. 24, 1989. In this patent, there is disclosed a dome-shaped device described as a solar heating disk. The device floats upon the surface of the water and a captured air pocket prevents its submergence. The trapped air becomes heated under the disk and this heat is transferred to the pool water by conventional conduction.
While both of these described solar heating devices are functional for their intended purposes, both involve complex manufacturing processes which include the use of special molds, and neither can be manufactured from existing commercially available products. As such, there exists a continuing need for solar heating devices which eliminate roof-mounted structures and which can be efficiently and economically manufactured. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.